Santa Sangre
by maddpappy
Summary: The Holy blood, sacrifice, love lost, pain, and Gods. What happens to Kate when realizes a truth long hidden from her? Only when she rises from her death, does she learn a startling truth.But the pain has taken its toll, an those sacrificed want vengeance. Can her moral compass remain strong, or will bitterness be her undoing?Can she cope or will she succumb to the darkness in hell
1. Chapter 1

A/N: My muse has left me for my other stories so I figured I'd just try something new to get writing again. This will be a slower posted story, but the entire thing is planned out. I have other stories I am trying to stay with and finish, but got a baby on the way and that just makes it difficult to get in the mood to post weekly. Going to keep this one short in chapters and focus on Kate and Richie since they had such a cool connection at first. Seth is not the love interest here. Scott and Kate also will have a journey. This is from Kate's point of view. The rest is going to be regular 3rd person **after** chapter one. Please don't rush the story, it is already planned out, be nice or tactful, and let me know of any errors so I can fix them. Thanks for reading! Enjoy.

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FDTD: Season 3: Santa Sangre

Ch. 1

The last thing I left this life with was a horrible emptiness. No one, not even God could fill it. I wasn't sure if I lost my faith, or had just gone over that line one to many times to feign ignorance. How do you even ask for forgiveness after all I've done? Regardless, I wasn't surprised that I was lost in darkness after a time when my last breath was uttered. Maybe I couldn't move on, even if it was to hell.

Perhaps that is why _they_ came to me? All I know was that I was alone, and then they were with me. I didn't fight it, because…there was nothing to fight with. It was like I had eyes, but saw only blackness. Some other worldly sense made it possible for me to even contemplate where I was, let alone everything else. This was my sentence. But there was more in that blood, and I wished I had known that the devil would have her due.

They always played tricks on you in hell.

No matter what religion or faith you were, hell was hell. Unlike God, Gods, or religions that varied from group to group, it was more like you were going to feel endless pain, just depended on what shit you envisioned it to be. I didn't want to care, but I died knowing that there was more after life, so even the newly departed 'Kate' had fear.

Everyone I've loved and tried to save was dead-or worse-had used me to get what _they_ wanted. I was alone by myself, yet I'd always been the strong one. Power, riches, and blood were worth more to those I loved and cared about. There was an ire emptiness in that knowledge.

Richie's eyes were the last thing I saw as the darkness of death engulfed me. Between him and Scott, I felt that emptiness as I left this life. I'd killed an innocent man, my own father, and robbed people. I'd covered up several deaths to cover for my brother. Truth was, I didn't much care. Nothing mattered when I learned Richie had betrayed everyone-and not even for love-just for _power_. Now they wanted to save me? When it was convenient to do so when I lay dying. Sure, whatever. So I stuck it to them both. There was no love left in me. I saw everything for what it was. Resentment fueled my inner sour puss. The way Richie'd grabbed me, forced me to look inward at my own actions, it was enough to rage a war inside my soul that lingered even now.

I'd died for nothing.

God help me, but I didn't think he would hear me now. This, _this_ I deserved. So when I heard the voices, I wasn't expecting an angel. There was one voice in the many, a woman's voice. It was like she took pity on me. But then she wasn't really there like the others. Something tickled my conscious, but the thought was fleeting and escaped me.

My world had once been rich and full of life not even a year ago. Normal. In a short time I'd learned my mom was suicidal, dad was investigated for her death but he was really just protecting mom's image and getting her to a hospital. Then my life was uprooted on a road trip to hell. Then everything literally _went_ to hell. The secrets were large, and the truth hurt worse than I ever imagined. Scott went full mafia on me and killed people from our home town, a lord took me as a pawn to use so Richie could rise in the ranks, and every good deed I'd tried to do, well…it was undone.

Love _was_ nothing.

 _Fear not_ , her voice whispered.

I was no innocent, though. Not anymore. The price had been way too high, and I think I'd bartered my soul without knowing it. I'd done the selfish thing, and I let myself go because what was the point? Because staying in that world only made me lose more of myself than I cared to admit. There was nothing else, and the rampant and evident emptiness was just too much to bear.

I'd gone too far, but who wouldn't to save the one you loved? I was no different then Seth, my world full of denial and attempts to save someone in way too deep. But unlike him, I couldn't resort to drugs. Ah, the things we did for love-so stupid. Repentance was not something I could seek. Not the way I'd gone about things. The strange thing was, I wonder if I wouldn't have tried harder than I did. Maybe power was the only way?

It made me no better than they, but then what other path was there for me? I wasn't Job who could still love God blindly even after my entire family was taken from me. I didn't have enough strength to see the burning bush Mosses had and go out into the world blindly. I was just Kate, simple and true.

You can imagine what it was like to go from what life to this life. Like my father had always guided me, I'd never let anyone know just how hard it had been growing up. But I'd mentally accepted the role of preacher's daughter. After all I'd seen and done, I knew there was something else I was missing. The thing is, I never really belonged and it almost made me laugh when Scott had also confessed as much. And what good had it gotten me when I was alone? Nothing. So I found comfort in their suffering-those voices-they were like my own. A cry out into the night for desperate revenge.

I wasn't jealous. No, I couldn't be. Even all those messed up teen feelings got me nowhere. Since Richie met _her_. And he also betrayed her, did things void of love. It was like I never really knew him at all. For once, I thought there was someone in the world who got me. Granted he was different, but I couldn't explain it. Even Seth, who I had taken care of, shared what I thought was a bond with me. But for one another, I was again cast aside.

 _I was trying to protect you_ , they'd said. Bullshit. You hadn't seen me in months. Richie, you were going to kill the only person I had left-like your own brother. How had he'd changed so much? He'd even hurt me and sputtered all kinds of nonsense out of his mouth about striking first. Maybe this is what that felt like then.

I'd suspected Seth wanted to keep me safe, but I wanted that same bond with my own brother. I could really related to Seth in that way. How could Richie not understand that? But he'd crossed them all. Why did I feel that weird feeling when we were close? And why did it hurt so much to lose it? I'd stayed with Seth, tried to help him, but even that wasn't enough for him either. Not that Richie thanked me-no he'd been jealous. No one had a place where I fit, and my old life was gone. If I felt upside down then, I felt like I was lost in a storm now. Who are you kidding, Kate. You are a child to them.

I didn't belong in their world as Kate. I was too different.

There was an agony inside me, a pain so lifelike that it shook me to my core. It came right after I'd wished Richie to burn in hell. I'd felt something, but it had been fleeting. Wow, I could almost feel the rage as it filled me to the brim. My words that night haunted me. Perhaps he'd freed me after all. I was tired of trying. Tired of caring. When I first walked in that room where he was getting a dance, I thought maybe I could charm my way out of it. And then something weird happened which led not only to me kissing him, but he kissing me back. I wanted to be free, but from what?

And then I'd died. Everything I'd done burned inside me like gasoline cast on a living breathing person. Only it was me dying in the flames and no one could help me. Oh, Richie had done that one already to his father. It figured. Sick bastard. I meant what I said, I had no more love to give. I'd given it all for them, especially Scott. All the goodness was gone. The light was gone, the match was blown out. All that remained was agony.

And then, wrath. I knew there was no heaven for someone like me. So I embraced the darkness unable to find the peace I desperately sought my whole life. I belonged nowhere. Even dead, it was darkness and blackness. Somehow, I found I was no longer alone though. They came to me, they chose me-she was among them yet not. I was one of them after all, wasn't I? The joke was on Richie and Carlos, because they had the power, not the blood itself. When it came, somehow I knew it was mine to take. And so I chose it.

I'd died here with them, separated by spans and eons, but a sacrifice all the same. I was one with them in this way, yet I felt like a lightbulb had gone off in my soul when they became part of me.

I was no more, right? I guess my soul was forfeit after all. I'd been shot in the gut as they'd been cast open for the Gods. I still had my heart, but it had been metaphorically torn out and bleed by those I loved. Irony was funny like that. All we'd needed was an alter and it would be like in days of old. I know some used to sacrifice children in those days. Lucky me. But I wasn't just another soul. No, irony always had the last laugh.

I decided to accept my fate, and I let go. Why not? Whatever this was, it made me feel stronger, safer, and somehow more…real than I ever had. Not all the way, but it was like the memory on the cusp of your mind, but hidden in the shadows of forgetfulness. I didn't care, I embraced the darkness that I now was. We were angry. We wanted revenge. _We_ had the power. I wanted to protect them.

I didn't know what love was anymore.

The dead belonged with me. Their hearts, their cries, were my cries. She-I- was their protector. I felt her blood enter my skin, and my eyes opened.

Maybe I am the psychopath for feeling anything for either of them. Images flashed inside my head, too many to count or understand. I was numb, yet so wired I must have gone mad.

Drawn like a butterfly to his darkness. Sad isn't it? Typical good girl falls for her captor, or a killer. Then why did I say those words to him even though I remembered the way his lips felt as they brushed against mine? Even now, it haunts me. Those words, "free me" as I said them. Maybe I should have been older, curvier, had sharper teeth and bigger tits. Well, I was free of them all now, wasn't I? Old me didn't matter. No one had wanted to save her. But new Kate was worthy of the blood. I knew my true name.

That's when I felt it. A door had opened inside of me, and what was once lost, was now found.

I heard the voices first, like some distant argument until it grew and grew. It wasn't like I could cover my ears and stave off the noise. But I was alone…so terribly alone, and they were with me-part of me. I could feel the wheel of fate turning, as a manner of speaking, and all I could do was cry out at my injustice. It wasn't fair! Part of me wanted to repent, but there was a darker part that roared with anger and rage. The voices grew as did my pain. Their injustice, their screams, became one voice. The power of all that death sought an outlet, and it was as if I could see myself. Taking what I wanted seemed only logical then. Everyone had a sin. I wasn't a bad person, but I felt the insanity grip me…There was no need to judge.

Even the Gods could rise anew.

I wasn't who I once was. The spans of lifetimes, so many souls, whipped through me. The wind picked up and cast aside the flimsy sheet used to cover my dead body. What was left of my soul viewed my sad and broken corpse, eyes wide with fear. Blood coiled and sought my still form and entered where the cut had been made. The cut that showed Richie where X marked the spot. Like a freight train, everything happened so fast. Then there was silence.

Next thing I knew, _our_ eyes had flashed open. We were one again…


	2. Chapter 2

_Fdtd ch 2_

 _Two years ago…_

"I swear it was right here," Scott scantly scoured the area for his sister's dead body. In all his short life, he'd lost the one person who'd truly loved him. Seth and Richie hadn't let him out of sight since he'd decapitated Carlos. He knew it was for Kate, but they could learn to chill.

It stung that Kate had refused to come with him as a culebra. He'd known how hard everything was for her, but she'd done it and sacrificed her morals just to keep that hope of family alive. Just like Seth, apparently. For him, Scott had never felt like part of a family. But he did now, only he didn't have his sibling. He never knew Kate could love so hard and as fiercely as she had. Just the fact alone that Kate denied staying alive spoke volumes. She'd rather die than turn. And she had.

He'd considered them all dead, but of course, Kate had been afraid when she'd seen what he'd become; when he'd bitten their father she was left standing to end _his_ life. It was her real family, and they were all gone, Scott shuddered inwardly. Even though he'd bitten their dad, she'd come for him time and time again. He grinded his teeth as the memory of her words stung his chest as if she'd surely staked him. _Look at you, caught up in your greed. Now you want to save me? You're weak._ He'd never heard her as hopeless as he did that day. And her voice was laced with such strong malice…so unlike her.

Kate had changed, he knew it then.

Scott sighed restlessly and kicked at the dirt.

He and Richie looked like desert folk with their heads and hands covered. Richie sported his usual suit and tie as did Seth. Seth approached the younger vampire and tried to sooth him, but there was no words to dull such an ache. Who the fuck would steal a body? "It's useless kid. She's not here anymore."

"Don't talk to me like that. How would you feel if Richie were gone?" He paused and searched Seth's features, and the guy backed down quietly. His mouth closed, and Scott knew he wanted to say something, but what would he say at this point? There was no argument in stressing the point, but none of this would have happened if he and his shit brother would have left them alone. Granted, Scott knew he didn't need to say the words. Even now, He could tell Seth was still torn over her loss.

Kate was a very good strong moral person. Anyone would have loved her.

The sun was still higher in the sky than either he or Richie preferred, but they came anyway. Huffing, Scott flailed his arms frustrated. They'd returned after the fiasco at Jackknife Jed's, everything in disarray, but set in motion none the less. Scott looked over at Seth again with narrowed eyes and he wasn't any happier about Richie's change in heart. They seemed to be working together, but at a distance. He wasn't sure about Richie. He'd been closed off after Santanico left. What did he expect?

A vampire mob boss? Great, now there was two of them.

Seth, with his dark hair and five o'clock shadow, continued to talk to the boy about possible outcomes as Richie looked a little closer at the spot where Kate had chosen to die, rather than live. _It won't hurt, I promise._ His jaw clenched at her last words, _I hope you burn in hell_ , and he should be upset. That had stung worse than he cared to admit. Somehow, this tiny girl was more woman than most. It should mean something, he thought to himself. And somehow, she hurt worse than his own Uncle dying. She was right, he didn't think twice about Scott, but he _had_ cared. How fast someone's heart's desire could change. What he wanted most was to belong, to be part of something great-his something. When Kate took her last breath, he'd realized that his own core severed silently and remained a figurative bleeding heart since. He buried it inside himself and focused on the tasks ahead, but it was like he had gone back to being somehow… less.

You kissed a fucking school girl, he told himself.

The stubborn girl didn't want to get out of his car, nearly evoking a scene from the Exorcist in the process. She'd made him smile-even then. His mind flashed to her smile when he'd mentioned sort of working with Seth. No one had been happier about that, and he wondered if it was how much time she'd spent with his brother-seeing the effects-that made her happy about it. He didn't want to need Seth, but she'd realized how much better he was as a team. Santanico could barely stand Seth. Kate had a way of bringing people together, seeing the best in a situation and holding steady. He'd never met anyone like her. It killed him that she'd chosen death.

Seth made a good point about _not_ doing this alone. He'd wanted this his entire life, but now there was no uncle, no Kate, just shit. He wasn't blind, and he knew Seth was staying for his sake, and in part to honor Kate's wishes. So now they were the _good_ -bad guys. It had only cost him the one person he'd connected to instantly in his fucking life. His ego had gotten in the way. He hated to admit it, but it was why he let Seth in on his gig. He picked up a small twig and tossed it off the wood covering the well. This shits getting old, he thought irritated.

His eyes panned to Scott, the source of undivided love for Kate. He'd never been loved like that. Hell, Santanico had been his first…thing. And you screwed that up, he thought with a shake of his head. They had been going in two separate ways since this all started.

Letting Santanico go free hadn't felt like this. For some time it was evident they were on different paths. That's when he really knew just how big a mistake he'd made. Kate impacted his life, the emergence of his wayob when she died, and his endless thoughts.

His mind flashed to the night at the club, the way he'd pushed her hair aside. I wanted her to feel at home, but I alienated her. All of us did. The people who were good to her died. Raff, he thought remembering her images when they'd shared blood through their cuts. The boy culebra had died for her to save her life. Seth had tossed her aside right after. So did I.

The moment she'd refused both Scott and he, the life they offered her, he'd felt that pain rise up in his chest. Not so brilliant, he thought to himself. Still, he didn't think she'd go through with it until her speech about giving it all to Scott and calling them both weak. Hadn't she just uttered a similar speech to him in his car? Underestimating the degree of pain in Kate, he'd figured it out too late. She was always trying so hard. But you knew the depth of her pain from the first time you saw her, he told himself.

You grabbed her and hurt her, and told her all the awful thing she did, and then she was killed. She was trying to save one person, just like he'd saved his brother as children from their father. Why hadn't he understood that? Richie thought for a time. He'd once apologized to Kate. But he'd hurt her this time. How was she supposed to feel about it? Had he not forcefully handled her? Kate must have seen that he indeed hurt, and that she wasn't immune.

The one person who was like you, and you didn't even bat an eye or think twice about her in your climb to power. It was the kind of pain that he avoided at any cost. Of course, it was the one other person in the world who could do that to him. Her loss caused a deep wound of grief he hadn't been prepared for. He'd always been outside of such emotions, but not any longer. He figured everything would change when Santanico changed him, but even they had been at odds. He'd tried to give her gifts like men did, but he'd failed to understand that those types of things wouldn't move her. She had been a queen, yet even knowing she could go to El Rey, she'd stayed.

It was like a cold shard cutting a place in his heart and something he knew would permanently bleed. If he could undo it all, he would.

Santanico had been equally surprised by his actions in letting her go. It had been so easy but she'd manipulated him also. He wasn't blind, or stupid when the Lord had blocked her influence so he could make his choice. I've royally fucked up, he thought saddened. Mulvado had seen right through it.

His eyes scanned the surface of the wood, her scent on the shroud that must have blown off her body between the time Carlos left and they'd arrived. He breathed it in for what could be the last time, and his eyes widened slightly. It was what Scott had first looked for. Before he turned back to them, Richie noticed a small glint that caught the rays of the sun and made him do a double take. He knelt down with his torn suit, and pulled a tiny chain from between the boards-Kate's cross in his gloved hand.

Frowning, he took the moment to really look at it. Who would take her body? His eyes trailed from the blood stain to the tube that had pumped all the Sante Sangre from the blood well. A foreboding feeling crept up his spine, but he shook it off. The blood was gone, wasted for nothing.

He looked back to Seth, and decided it was better he pocket the cross. It was all he had left of her. When they found her body, he wanted to bury it with her, but part of him knew he'd never part with it. Granted, this entire thing seemed off. Why would someone take her body and not at least pawn the gold? It was like someone had tossed it aside. That earlier anger rose in him again.

His eyes closed, burning from the rays, but more in loss than anything else. "We'll find her, Scott, and we will do right by her this time." That was Seth as he drew closer to them.

Seth looked away as he said it, still pissed about how things ended. It was now his burden as much as Richie's.

* * *

 _Present-6 months later…_

It was the same dream he'd been having for the better part of two months. Hospital, screams, torture, and then he'd wake up in a cold sweat just as he had tonight. The sensation was fed by pure malice, and a side of crazy that he'd not seen in quite a while.

Richie breathed in and out as he wiped a hand over his face and slid to the side of the bed. Once his feet were firmly planted on the floor, he felt almost instantly better. The cool of it grounded him, and he welcomed the relief of the change. Why did he keep dreaming of this place? Fed up with lack of rest, he opened a drawer beside his bed for a book, which he kept any clues he could about the dreams, in.

There was over thirty some pages already, drawings, markings…

The hand that held his wayob ached, and Richie wondered if it was a side effect of the dreams. After he finished scribbling his notes, Richie tossed the book back in the drawer and slammed it shut. He rubbed his good hand over his aching one thinking it over. Guess I'll just stay up, Richie told himself with a sigh. The shower seemed like a good idea.

Ten minutes later he was showered, dressed, and on his way upstairs to see Seth.

"A little early, sleeping beauty," his brother mocked at him. Seth put all the papers he had been looking at in a pile and stood from the red chair at their desk. He ruled the day, and Richie the night. Just like the Popol Vah stated.

Richie rolled his eyes and absently rubbed his hand as they passed one another, "shove it." He began to mix two drinks, and handed one to Seth.

"That thing still bothering you?" Seth asked him seeming troubled by it.

Richie, as cool as he could, replied, "It's nothing, brother. Don't worry yourself over my _hand_." Richie gave him a passing side glance and noticed Seth's appearance. Bruises lined parts of his face and knuckles. "Looks like you should do something other than hit people?" Seth took the drink an swallowed in one gulp.

"Like you care what I do when you have control," Seth barked sarcastically. "Good drink, where'd you learn to make that?"

"A soul I made," he said in passing. "Something comes along when you take-"

Seth waved him off, "Never mind. Don't want to know."

"You are dealing, ineffectively, I might add." Richie sat down but was ready for the usual blame that came from Seth's mouth. "You need a clear head to work business."

"I deal at least. Looks like you could care less. But I guess you got what you wanted. I'd trade all of this for Kate in a moment."

"Seth," Richie almost sang, "no one asked you to stay here." He clasped his hands over his abdomen looking smug as ever. Truth was, he didn't like just how hurt by Kate's death Seth was. "You too must have been close."

"She took care of me, so yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I have to make sure you get your shit right," Seth said and licked his lip as he clenched his jaw. "You know it wasn't like that between us. But did I grow to love her for who she was? Fuck yes, I did. She was strong for me, despite the loss she felt. I feel like an ass."

Richie pointed out, "She gave you heroine."

"She let me deal the only way I knew how, kept me busy. She never tried to change who I was and accepted the shit in front of her. You'd think she would judge me, but it was like she knew where my heart was. Unlike Santanico, Richie, Kate wanted us to work together. She never gave a fuss about it. She just tried to help. We abandoned her."

Tiredly, Richie retorted, "Do you want to babysit Scott?"

Seth's head bobbed, his body tensed, "It's the least we could do for her. Hell, we haven't even found her body."

Richie looked away, and that was all Seth seemed to get out of him these days. He knew his brother was a prick, but he'd been increasingly hostile in that cold subtle way he had. If he didn't know better, he'd say Richie wasn't dealing really well with her loss either. Not that he mentioned it.

Seth blew out a breath, shook his head in a no fashion, and waved his brother off with a hand. He stopped at the edge of the hallway, fluffed his suit and said, "I'm not stupid, Richie. Your hand eye is green like Kate's eyes were. Try and hide it all you want-it don't fucking matter to me-but it says enough. You can try to hide it, but you deserve that pain more than any of us." He turned his head ever so slightly without turning back to him, "You don't have to pretend for me, I already know you grieve."


	3. Chapter 3

FDTD ch. 3

Richie sighed and tilted his head on the back of his chair. Not two minutes after Seth left, did Scott enter. Great, another long day he thought as he watched the kid saunter up to him. "There's been another hit on the supply chain."

"Yeah, I figured," Richie said and rubbed his eyes. "Where was this one at?" He sat forward in the chair and had to feign interest for Scott's sake. The kid had been all about finding his sisters body, and thought the recent attacks were connected.

Scott moved forward and handed Richie the photos that spoke to themselves. "It has to be a crime lord."

"Why does it have to be, Scott?" Richie's eyes met the younger Culebra's. "Since Kate's body was taken?"

"Why not?"

Huffing, Richie sat back. "Not this again. Look," he said and sat forward quickly, "if someone was going to make a point of her body, they would have."

"You suck at this, you know?" Scott stepped down at the cold glare that Richie gave him.

"You're fed and cared for, as is everyone else. Everyone is making profits…" Scott rolled his eyes amid Richie's rant.

"Shit I don't care about," Scott tried, "You have to go after whoever is doing this. It's obvious they are targeting _you_."

Richie placed his hands together. Scott had some sense, and he'd been wondering the same. "I'm not stupid-" he began.

"-could have fooled me." He narrowed his eyes and set the boss with a calculated glare few others would attempt. He was no stranger to Richie's newest hobby of drinking others dry to gain their talents.

Richie slammed the desk with his fist, "I can _see_ how you are related to Kate."

"I was, until you two came into our lives. Now she's dead. You can't fix that, now can you?" Scott shook his head and turned on his heal. "I'm outta here."

Frustrated Richie sat back.

* * *

Seth hopped from foot to foot as he stared down his opponent for this night. He'd been doing this for weeks when he'd gotten bored. It helped ease his own self-loathing. At least I show you feel her loss, Seth thought aggravated. For the hundredth time, he wondered if he should just leave Richie. He'd slowly changed the last two years. Distant, cold, ruthless, but not what he thought he'd amount to. Hide sight was always fifty-fifty, but he refused to give up the power.

His opponent swung, and he darted down coming up with a punch of his own. Many nights, he imagined it as Richie's face he was seeing. Bam, bam, pop. Down the fighter went. Of course the crowd cheered him on, and he pocketed the money he'd won. If only it was about the money anymore.

Seth spit on the ground to his right. One of these days, he knew he wouldn't be as lucky. Secretly, he wondered if that's what he hoped would happen. They dragged the passed out fighter away, and Seth moved to put on his shirt. A man approached, just like the dozen or so that had before him. They saw the potential in his street fights, and wanted to make a buck off him.

"What's a fighter like you doing on the streets? Ain't nobody told you there are better places to make some cash?"

Seth looked the guy up and down. He wore a Rolex, a weird hat, and nice slacks and moved his hands around like an Italian. "I do this for fun, or to blow off steam. It's not about the money." Is this guy for real, he thought suddenly.

He answered in typical style, "Everything is about money, my friend."

Seth readjusted his shirt, and really looked at the guy. "I'm all set with money. If I am encroaching-"

"Just like to see talent put to good use. Hate to see the object of that rage you got." The man lit a cigarette, still not taking the hint. Seth stared over at him in his usual 'I call bullshit' manner. Really, he thought irritated.

"I got a business, I got money, and now I'll be going." Seth backed up still facing the man knowing that he wasn't the type that liked to take NO for an answer. "Suit yourself," the man said and watched him leave. Before he turned, he swore he saw a glint of red in the man's eyes…

* * *

Twenty minutes later Seth strolled back in to find Scott who was not anywhere to be found, "Hey, have you seen Scott?" He asked some of the staff, but they all shrugged. Finally, he made his way downstairs to ask the _other_ boss. Few of the others tolerated Scott, but Seth knew he was getting on everyone's last nerve.

"Richie? You see Scott?" The sound of the elevator and the following footsteps alerted Richie that Seth was on his way over. Granted his brother talked in a normal tone, but it was easy for Richie to discern what he said even from this distance. He looked up from a pile of photos Scott had left trying to place why this looked familiar to him, "He left here about ten minutes after you left. Why? Enjoy the silence while you can."

Seth walked over to his brother, took a breath in to speak, and then saw what Richie was looking at. "What are these?"

Richie sat back, "complements of Scott. These are the remains of one of our operations gone sour. He thinks we are being targeted by the same person who took Kate's body."

At the mention of Kate's name, Seth's jaw clenched, "That again?"

"Exactly what I said," Richie muttered.

"So he ran out of here…"

Richie widened his eyes, "I got someone on his tail, and there is GPS that we are tracking. No matter how much we want to protect him for Kate, he's a grown kid now. We can't tie him down."

"Not unless we get Kate back, and we can't do that. None of your new parlor tricks include raising the dead? As far as letting him go," he said and waved a hand through is hair, "Another one of those brilliant ideas of yours?" Seth just shook his head and pointed at his brother, "you couldn't do it yourself?"

"It's nighttime, brother." Richie's implication only infuriated Seth. "I thought you wanted to keep it a team effort. If you're finished berating me, we can head out. I did wait for your sorry ass."

"Right. Let me shower and dress."

"Chasing people for a fight again?" Richie's tone rose at the end, his elegant voice smooth as it was cold.

Seth's brows rose, "A guy tried to get me to sign with him."

"Must be doing something good then," Richie said looking off into the distance.

"Well, he gave me the fucking creeps. I thought he had red eyes for a minute."

That got Richie's attention, "red eyes?"

"Yeah," Seth said and stopped. "Why?"

"Hurry up," Richie said and stood. "I do have a business to get back to."

Seth just shook his head with his hands out.

* * *

Once Seth entered the shower, Richie went back to his room and sat on his bed. He looked at the drawer knowing it couldn't be a coincidence that Seth saw red eyes and he was _dreaming_ about them. He opened the drawer and flipped open his dream book. Carefully, he went page by page.

The first was of a person shrouded in gray tied to a chair with the letters _Micte_... _of Mictlan_ in blood on a wall. There was a circle of bloody skulls in another; the skulls aligned on rocks and surrounded by fire, a girl with red hair and a man bowing at her feet, one with a man holding a drill, another with an image of Kate in pain…so much blood in that one, and he flipped again. The next one looked to be a grim reaper with red eyes, flipped, another page with red eyes, and the last one was Scott and the red haired girl fighting. He slapped the book shut and rubbed his eyes.

Seth's door slammed, and Richie got his keys. Listening to his gut feeling, he decided to head out and try to be objective this time about what Scott said.

He tossed the keys to Seth as they walked toward the car. Richie pulled out his phone, and started the tracker that was linked to Scott, and set it on the dash for Seth to navigate.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," he said more to himself than anyone else.

"You and me both. Got your balls screwed on?"

"Ever to tightly," he finished. For a time, the street lights blurred as they passed, and an awkward silence filled the car.

Richie began, "You know Scott has a band?"

Seth shrugged, "he had a guitar at the motel. Why is that a surprise?"

Richie snickered, "he has a Christian band named Fanglorious. He can read people's souls."

"Yeah, well, not one for taste I suppose," Seth remarked and double checked the GPS. "Better than killing people for their...gifts or whatever the fuck you call what you do. That was their thing. I guess he learned how to feed all on his own."

Richie let his eyes glance at Seth sideways, "Don't you think it's stupid?"

"It's how he deals. She paid a high enough price to get him out of our world-and not the biting kind-the _crime_ one. He fucking better have. Not the same could be said for your ambition."

"She's gone, when are you going to let that go?"

Seth gave him one of his famous 'are you shitting me' head shakes. "You are on the bottom of the totem pole, getting us the wonderful 'oztomeca' title. I had us set up," he said irritated.

"And people kept getting killed," Richie pointed out. "Even that girl you dated was against you. Why is all the blame on me?"

They stopped at a red light, "you know, maybe that thick head isn't as great as you think it is. Richie, I left Kate with a care, a ton of money, and sent her home. You got her mixed back into this shit, took her to a place she had no business at, and she died."

"She wasn't taking no for an answer, Seth. She also clearly pointed out that she wasn't going to get 'thrown to the curb by another gecko boy'. Hmm, sounds like you did real great by her." He sat back and shrugged, "Kate had changed some. Whatever, keep blaming me if it makes you feel better." The light turned green.

Seth grunted, "So I guess time means nothing to you now."

"You only care for the chase," Richie added. "I wanted to be someone more. Unlike you, I have the time on my side. I belong here, even if its not up to your standards."

"Yeah, no thanks snake tooth," Seth added with distaste. "I've seen what that venom does to the lot of you. We were part of something, and that is why I am here now."

"you are here," Richie added, "because you feel guilty about Kate, watch over Scott, and have no life outside of the 'Gecko brothers' unless its to shoot up your arm. I mean, where do you get off on the moral high ground when the girl had to shoot it up for you?"

Seth swallowed, "I realized what my type of life was doing to her. I sent her away."

"And by the time she got to me, she wasn't the same girl. I saw it," he said and paused so he could look over at Seth. "She was forceful, stronger, and done with shit. She was desperate."

"You understood her so well, eh? Like when you kissed her in the back of that club-or was it just the hand holding thing?"

Richie felt his lip twitch with annoyance. "Can we not do this right now," he looked down at the GPS, "he's close."

#


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I have not left writing, I promise. Got a baby on the way and it makes it hard for me to write. I don't feel like my old self. Gotta love them hormones. Anyway, I've been writing pieces here and there, re-reading them, and putting forth what I can when I do. Can't wait till i feel like myself again. No worries though, I got this thing planned out in an outline so I know where I am going.

* * *

Santa Sangre Ch. 4

Unseen footsteps made imprints in the dirt, yet no sound permeated the area. It was as if no one was there, yet the silence in the night told another story. Death was left in place of those footsteps. It was a blackness void of natural life as it seeped all that essence from the spots it had been, and lifted it into her waiting power. Of course, in this form, no one could see her. She _was_ death and shadows to the naked eye.

Kate paused, sated ever so slightly from the pain and emptiness inside herself and the earth, and pulled aside some brush as she looked out at the small group that was headed toward a bus. A small smile lit her lips; it was so easy to draw the death and pain from the earth as she'd just done, but there was something more she yearned for. Humans were so violent. Years of blood, murder, killings and suicide were enough to sait the waiting darkness inside her most days, but something had...changed.

But she'd been human once, right? But that wasn't it either.

For several moments, she felt her eyes blink rapidly as sense seemed to come to her. Her head quirked ever so slightly. It was a tie, between menace that appeared on her young face with and annoyance, as the dueling personalities fought for dominance. Something inside her sang true…blood maybe? Frustrated, her mood darkened a degree. Small fingers flexed from open, to fist, and then open again. Even her breathing seemed…tight. Her clothes were tight, with dark blacks and elaborate cuts, but not exactly relevant enough to fit in with 'the times'. There were memories, things that didn't feel foreign, yet other things did.

Her eyes fell to the ground and a sly smile lit her lips. Conjuring the darkness to her waiting hand seemed to calm the effects of thought. Though her head was bowed, her eyes rose to watch the group of teens. But they were no more 'teens' than she was 'normal'.

 _Blood was a soul, and the soul was a two headed serpent_. Thoughts like this kept forcing their way to the forefront of her mind.

But she was her own self, and images of her life transposed themselves over the images that sang in the blood. She looked but did not see the teens any more. Yet distantly, she knew the blood was also…her…something more than mortal Kate. Thousands of cries echoed behind her ears as Kate twitched her head and closed her eyes to regain control. Souls…she needed to do something…

 _What_ was it? That part of herself was so faint, yet it still fought to rise to the surface of an otherwise dark emptiness and void that clouded the reigns to her own body. I'm a slave, she thought knowing that she had to fight whatever it was that controlled her. Whatever it was had no shape, for a lack of any other word, but it wasn't of her.

The distant part of herself, the one she remembered being through the blood, told her that this was no God, only a demon that needed fighting. _Serpent_ , remember that. Religions were all the same, but faith never was. _Like your God is the only god_ , a voice whispered to her.

 _Amaru_ , that was its name, but she knew it for what it really was. It wanted to kill and decimate this world.

Why? _It is not your plane_ , she told herself in a female voice not exactly her own. Her brows wince and twisted in pain as she struggled to remember what it was she was supposed to _do_. I have a purpose, she thought dismayed. 'Amaru' was not good, and maybe she wasn't either, but she despised the lies it told her. I am stronger than this, Kate enforced in her own will. Still, that darkness clouded her judgement and allowed the darker side to rule her limbs. Helpless to watch, she couldn't help but fade into a flace that was black.

Her eyes scanned towards the one known as Scott. A brother, but not really by blood. She managed to step out of the brush and remained hidden as she drew closer to him. He called the others away now. When she looked left, she met the gaze of her would be opponent in the reflection on one of the cars.

Mom, Dad, Scott, and the bullet that had ended her. But there was more- _she_ was more. Where Kate fell behind to the darkness, this other part remained. Behind it were a thousand voices, cries even, that helped her. Images of souls…was it the blood or was it the two headed serpent inside?

 _It is only a name, and names change with time_. Another distant thought.

What was in the blood and what the hell had happened to her? This piece was far older, timeless in some aspect, but it desired the mortal and her memories as its own. Somehow, it was part of her. Like she'd been cut into two and then inhabited by a third.

Yes, that sounds right, she thought. But what am I going to do about that?

Her old self spoke, _remember_ who _you are,_ and then vanished. Satisfied, the Amaru rose to the surface as her own faint screams echoed into the darkness that encapsulated them into nothingness.

* * *

Scott decided to leave his camper after having sent the others out. They had a gig in two days, but he couldn't help feeling stalked. Gut feeling was something a little more to him these days, and he used it with caution. He'd had to promise the others a good explanation for recent events. Seems his guitarist really hadn't changed like Scott thought he had. Regardless, he thought, I'll deal with the interloper later. He was sick of people pretending to be something that they weren't.

With lips drawn tight, and his jaw clenched, Scott tried to hone his Culebra abilities tighter. His eyes scanned the trees that lined the edge of where he'd parked, and the various broken down cars that lined the lot. No one was _there_ , yet distinctly, his gut told him he was wrong. He assumed it was the brothers following him, but he didn't hear a heartbeat. Seth wouldn't go without Richie so he ruled it out.

"Who's there?" he called out feeling stupid and young all at once. _Damn_ man, he told himself. Like anyone stalking you would just stand up and wave back. His head shook in a 'no' fashion as he inwardly berated himself. After a sigh he closed his eyes at his stupid mistake, but stood a little taller as he tried to 'fix it'. He'd been making a ton of those lately. The road to redemption would be a long one, but it was worth it to honor Kate. Inwardly, he cringed at allowing her to die. Forcing her would have been like his old self. He still wished he had.

The wind picked up, trees swayed, and leaves seemed to vibrate with an unearthly peril. Then there was only silence. Again. This was someone's _game._

"Ok, what the actual fuck, man," he breathed under his breath. Nothing happened, so he turned to head towards his bike.

When he did turn, his eyes met with red ones and a voice said, "There you are."

Scott ducked as a sword swiped by his head and nearly cut his ear off, "Fuck!" he yelled.

He turned into a roll and headed toward his bike that had his old swords on it still. Never could be too careful when you were on your own, he thought as he dashed. Quicker than expected, there was a body ahead of him again. The aggressor moved forward with purpose, and paused as the fear in his expression took root.

No it couldn't be.

" _Kate_?" Scott yelled and lowered his stance from fight to shock. Caught off guard, the girl swung at him again nearly missing his neck this time. This isn't happening, he told himself in a mantra over and over. "You died!"

The Amaru smiled a vicious smile, raised its sword and charged him. "Are you sure, little snake?"

He ducked, rolled and unsheathed his sword all in one swift movement. Scott ducked again catching Kate's wielded sword just as it clashed against his own with sparks flying out in blues and red flames.

"Kate, you were dead…" Scott panted, "What are you _doing_? Why are your eyes like that?" His voice was pained as he panted trying to keep her off him.

He pushed her off and backward, her steps faltering, "Scott?" Her voice said ever so smallish, confusion lining her face. He eyes became human again, the sword dropping from her grip as if it weighed more than the world. She looked over her own hands, and then up at him questioningly. "Where am I?"

"Why are you attacking me-hell-how are you _alive?"_

She seemed to think about this until her eyes shown with resolution, "You have to run!" She started and winced in pain, "there is something in me…the blood…You need to run. It's going to …" she gasped, "Kill you." Kate's body trembled, her form falling to her knees. "Please," she begged with tear filled eyes. "I can't fight it!"

As his eyes swept over his sister, Scott noticed her hair was red, and not brown, her clothes were leather and some weird design…

Scott, unable to tear away from her words, couldn't take the sheer pain in her voice. He reached for her instead. The moment his skin made contact with hers, Kate doubled over and grabbed him by the chin and rose to her full height gripping him by the neck. He saw it then.

The red glow reappeared in her eyes, "you stupid boy," a dark voice reprimanded. "Your loss will weaken her. Pesky little thing, so little, so confused. I will own her." It laughed in Scott's face as it raised his body clear off the ground. At a similar height to himself, Scott pondered just how she lifted him with ease. He'd heard of possession before, but seeing it first hand was an entirely different thing.

Scott began to see black spots before he felt something burn across his skin.

* * *

"We're here," Richie stated sarcastically as always. His brow lifted as he waited for Seth's rebuttal.

"You think?" Seth retorted, giving his brother a side glance. Richie only smirked harder and he rolled his own eyes. Damn fucker, he thought to himself. He shook out his blazer that covered a no collared white shirt. Black pants were patted next as he stood idly around waiting for something to happen.

"What can I say, observant as always brother?" Richie retorted and rolled his own eyes at his brother's glare. He also exited the car just as Seth did.

"Stick to what you're good at," Seth remarked knowing it'd get on Richie's nerves. When he glanced at him, Richie looked preoccupied scanning the landscape of what looked to be a new level of shitsville. Perhaps Richie was right when he said Scott lacked taste.

"Do you hear that?" Richie asked his brother after a short pause.

Seth stopped mid stride and glared at his brothers back. Sensing he moved alone, Richie turned perplexed. "What?"

"I can't hear like you, asshole." He waved the gun in his hand around vigorously as he tried to make his point. "You know, still human. Alive."

"Overrated." Though Richie wanted to laugh at Seth's bulging veins that appeared from neck to throat, he settled on, "That's just it, there's nothing…no birds, no bugs…"

Seth lowered his gun to his side and tilted his head listening. "Fuck," he said looking instantly more alert, "that's never good." He put weight on his left leg to relax his right one as he thought about all the bad shit this could mean. It was the small things he'd started learning that he'd need to pay more attention to. You got that way hanging around the snake types. All he fucking wanted was money, a beach, a nice piece of ass and to be drunk day in and out. What the fuck was he doing wasting his time on this shit? Oh yeah, Richie. Kate's voice reminded him how well he'd done solo last time.

Richie watched as Seth bitched to himself, and raised his brows. He knew Seth had just left her with the car and money, but he still carried the weight of her death pretty hard. It was just that way for both of them when it came to Kate. She had this pain, darkness, and such a fire that they'd grown to love her as family. He shook his own head to clear his head.

They moved in closer, watching and looking for anyone as they made their way around a crowd of disbanded and unowned cars. "This is a dump," Seth remarked. "Why do you need so many shitty cars in one place, anyway?"

"Many places to hide," Richie added and shrugged as he gripped the butt of his own gun. "It ain't my shit, brother."

Seth glanced at him with a half smirk, "not your style, right?"

Richie rolled his eyes and looked to his phone as it vibrated, and he chanced a glance at it before motioning to Seth. After a moment, he spotted Scott's dot on the GPS and zoomed in. Seth looked over, and Richie pointed to the left. With a nod, they began to move. He noticed some static on the display, but continued anyway.

Seth looked around and noted that this kid had been the bane of his existence. Old cars were lazily parked all over the place and it was just the type of place that called out for trouble. "This is where the kid hangs out?" He blew out a breath and ducked down near a door. Richie followed suit and closed in quietly. Scott was no Kate, by any stretch of the word.

"He comes here to meet with his bandies. They suck," he added a moment later with a small laugh. "You'd think he'd have some more…" Richie waved a hand in a circular motion, "flare. I don't know." He looked out again, "Christian fang bangers isn't really all that…godly." He looked back to Seth, "seems the sense gene skipped a generation on that one."

"He's not related and it's a Christian band, you shithole." He said it because of _Kate_. "Santanico is seen as a 'Goddess', how is that any different? What else did you expect him to do after she died?" his head reared back, "why do you care, you don't believe in any of that Jesus stuff."

Richie lifted a brow, "I have a little more taste? I know what I eat, brother. No point in pretending." I'd let Kate pray for me in the RV that one time, he thought and frowned outwardly.

"Oh, like you sucking up all the," he made air quotes with his fingers, "talents of the recently deceased fuckers you eat?" he blew out an irritated laugh. Seth bobbed his head and shook a finger at Richie, "See, I _knew_ it. You _are_ keeping tabs on him. What are you, fangirling now? Small Asians your new thing?" He knew Richie hadn't gotten laid much in his life. Always the one to point things out, he baited his brother with ease.

Oh my fucking god, Richie thought nearly weighed down by Seth's incessant need to provoke or bitch at him. "Never said I wasn't, brother." Richie sighed, now bored with Seth's apparent need to point his finger. It was easier to play along. that finger though...did he ever stop wagging it at people? he wondered. "You bitch more than the average woman, did you know that?" Richie shot back with a half smile. two can play at this, he thought distractedly.

"Oh how you wound me," Seth cracked with less enthusiasm then expected.

Annoyed, Richie tried to clear his mind. Maybe he hadn't gotten the idea of protecting Scott before, but he did now. Emotional connections were not his thing, and learning about it the hard way had cost him his Kate. It had been her pain that drew him in, not her darkness, as was the usual thing he was attracted to. Well, pain is a type of darkness, he corrected himself. The same bitterness that had been eating at him since she'd died whirled almost out of control. Well, she wasn't _his_ , by any stretch of the word, but she'd been something. There were few people he loved, and even fewer he gave a damn for.

No matter how hard he'd tried, he'd learned a long time ago that he wasn't built like other people. But Kate had happened quicker and sooner than he'd realized. I'm attracted to the darkness in people, what did that mean for her? What the hell happened there, he questioned himself. Maybe she reminded him of himself to some small degree. Her pain was as open and bleeding as any bullet hole bled. It touched something inside of him instantly, and made him want to protect her from it. Such a thing was a foreign concept and he didn't understand it anymore than this out of control feeling that plagued him.

It was something he didn't want Seth to mock. She'd thought of _him_ when Seth had been getting high. She'd wanted to keep them close, unlike so many before her. It both puzzled and frustrated him. Kate brought people together. He'd felt something, not sure what, when he'd seen everything they'd done when Mulvado had put their hands together. She'd done things, gone to certain lengths, and her pain had only grew. Her memories were still ingrained in his head, and he missed her wit. Something deeper connected him with her; something he didn't understand.

He'd wished he had that time with her, but didn't regret Santanico. Still baffled, he just now started to understand _her_ resistance to his charms in the first place. Kate was an entirely different beast, but he'd watched that spunky fiery spirited girl choose to die rather than live. Santanico was a woman always chained, which was a woman scorned. There was no easy way to make her happy unless she found it herself. He got that now. A thousand years was a long time, and he'd happened too soon. Still, part of him knew she was using him for an end. Her beauty was blinding, but even now she was not the girl she'd been when she'd wanted her freedom. How long has she waited for someone to have a strong telepathic link to?

Everyone, even Seth had used him. Kate never had. It's why he'd hated his brother and what they were. The Geckos. But he'd proven how well he didn't do without Seth.

Kate was something-more. Just what the fuck more, you idiot, he asked himself. She was as ingrained in his circle as Seth was.

Well, she did try to seduce you with a kiss, he reminded himself with a smirk. She hadn't done that at all with Seth on their little trip. The feeling that it had caused had made him reciprocate that kiss and enjoy it like nothing else. She was too young, and he should have felt shame, but it was easier to focus on the woman who needed him at the time. And you were bleeding out, he reminded himself. It had been lost in the shuffle.

Whatever the two had shared on their little journey, he was jealous of the way they'd gotten close. All that time Seth had with Kate, and he'd had so little. It mattered more now that she was gone…somehow. He didn't get it himself, but rolled with it the best he could. That put him here, following her stupid ass brother.

Now he was stuck here listening to Seth bitch. Yes, he was still bitching, Richie surmised with a glance.

 _There's no love left, Richard._

Not for him. That was another pivotal moment for him. He gripped his gun a little tighter. Kate wanted to save Scott. This is why you are here, he told himself. Own it.

It was that type of moment he'd seen in countless movies and books over the years. I can't control it, he thought to himself. This need to fill a void he didn't understand. He'd thought this many times over at his bar. Seth had just asked him what he meant, and Richie had barley caught himself in time. It was why he was tailing her weird as fuck brother. Let Seth bitch all he wanted, but for her, he'd do this and figure out the control issue later. He couldn't control the pain, the need to fill something lost. Mulvado's words rang in his ears, 'You can tell a lot about a man by what he's willing….'

Richie heard something and it snapped him out of his thoughts.

Apparently Seth had continued to rant and was saying, "He's like a lost dog. At some point he's gonna grow up and there's nothing I or you can do." Seth held a hand out for the GPS on the phone and Richie tossed it at him.

Richie asked, "Is he close?" Some type of interference was complicating the tracking on the phone. Seth had no better luck. "you weren't listening?"

Richie sighed, "I may have all the time in the world now, but I can't tolerate you forever."

He moved his phone left and then right waiting for a better signal, "he went this way, and looks to have stopped." They shared a look and moved faster toward the direction Scott was. Why would he be still so suddenly?

"Do you feel that?" Richie asked Seth after a moment. His face was drawn, serious, and his eyes were wide as they were alert.

Seth raised a brow, as Richie just confirmed the eerie feeling he'd been getting. "Yeah, it's too quiet. But then I hear someone gagging. Want to guess who that could be?"

* * *

Scott attempted to grip the arm that held him up in the air, but its owner had an unnaturally tight grip. As his pleading gaze looked down, all he saw were red eyes, and not his sister Kate. Regardless, his arms attempted to swat her and did nothing but cause him more grief. He felt as if they had lifted off the ground some, but his vision began to blur.

There was a pressure, as if the life was being forced from his body, and he noticed black lines that came from the newly appeared ripples in his skin, and flowed towards her. Fucking A, he thought as he began to lose himself and his fight. A few more attempts at her arms did nothing to free himself. Just as quickly, he felt something in is skin shift.

Like he'd spit poison, the thing inhabiting Kate hissed and tossed him away from herself. He gagged as he too crawled backward in crab fashion and disbelief. When he gripped his own neck, he felt the immediate change, hand coming out before his own eyes to confirm it.

Eyes now wide, he looked to her, back to his arms, and noticed that his skin had become something almost solid, and slightly wet.

"That is a gift from Xibalba," she or it said in a masculine voice. Her lips drew back in a snarl, but he could tell she was not like he was-a culebra. "You are nothing but a rodent," she finished with piss poor hate. "All of you will bow."

Just then, two figures he detested rounded the corner about half way between him and Kate.

"Whoa-" Seth yelled and waved his gun. It seemed like he was stunned as much as Scott had been. "What the hell is this?"

"Kate?" Came a questioning voice from Richie who stopped cold in his tracks. He could tell something was not right, yet there was a pull he'd never felt before either.

"I told you something was off when we didn't find her body. But that," he said waving his head NO, "isn't her." They all stopped and looked at the thing in Kate.

It flashed a devilish smile at him, and then moved to include the two new arrivals. After focusing on Richie for a moment, its demeanor changed.

Scott heard it say something in Xibalban, but didn't understand it.

Her lips began to twitch as she took in Seth, but it was her reaction to Richie that surprised Scott more. Her stare was hard, full of hatred, and a little of something else. "The game is on," it said to Richie, and then it seemed to give out. His brows dipped immediately as he watched.

"Let's all just calm the fuck down for a minute," Seth attempted in his usual bossy manner. Richie and Kate starred at one another, her eyes slowly changing from red to their natural color.

Her body seemed to shake, as if she were fighting something, Scott noted. "Kate?" He watched as she twitched, but her eyes weren't exactly like herself. It was Kate's face, but the expression was not one she'd used. "What did she say to you?" he asked Richie quickly.

Richie seemed lost as he approached the girl carefully and waved Scott off as he moved in. "What did you say to me?"

"I know you," she began as if confused. "You know what I said."

Scott interrupted, "It's Richie and Seth, and Scott…" He murmured. "You remember us, don't you? Kate?"

Kate's face was annoyed as she took in his words but stared at Richie still. Her head was bowed slightly. "You must not let him have these souls," she attempted.

"I won't," Richie responded equally confused. "Kate?"

"There are too many...I can't do what I am supposed to do..." She looked up almost pained. "I can't...I can't fight it. I can't remember." She looked back at him, total despair on her face. She repeated the same phrase to Richie with all the urgency a voice could carry.

The wind picked up and the brothers both looked up as the wind howled and carried a mass of debris and leaves their way. Once it calmed, and they looked back, she was gone.

Scott also looked, and when she realized she was gone, he pointed at Richie, "What did she say? What did she mean?"

Seth added, "that wasn't Kate. The way she looked at us...Or the other thing."

"Red eyes. It's classic possession, or demon." Scott added with attitude. "You ever heard of it before?" he sighed and watched Richie, "it must have taken over her body after she died. She was by the well. Maybe there was something else there. None of that was her-except she warned me before."

"Look kid," Seth started. "I'm sorry bout Kate, but...voices? Possession?"

Scott glared at Richie, "he knows." He went to punch richie in the arm, but it was dodged. "Don't you touch me, you little prick."

Seth moved in closer as Richie thought in his own head, "She said, _Set me free._ "


	5. Chapter 5

Santa Sangre

Chapter 5

* * *

The trip back to the car was a bit awkward between the trio as it sank in what Kate had said. Scott thought she was possessed, Seth wanted to put IT out of her misery, and he felt like there was something more at play here. Each face was lost in their own thoughts, and Richie allowed himself to think. Each one of them took something else from it, but Richie thought the hardest having heard that from her once before. _They_ didn't know that. It was something strictly between him and Kate.

The way she said 'Set me free' was almost _desperate_ like an invisible clock was ticking down somewhere. Worse was the feeling that he _should already know_ something about it. This very thing stemmed from that out of control feeling he'd been having. He compared the phrase to his memory of the first time she'd said those words. It was like she'd implied something he should understand and fix, even then. When he'd thought he'd lost her, something inside him snapped, as if he'd missed out on something that he also didn't complete. It was a harsh and violent jarring of his soul.

Feelings were not his strong point. What the hell was it? Did she know, or was she searching for something she also didn't understand? He chalked it up to young hormones and a preacher's daughter feeling the first full effects of lust, but that wasn't it even when he'd tasted the alcohol on her lips. Playing guns must not have been it either when she'd spent time with Seth, but he knew it had changed her. Killing had changed her and maybe had her wondering if love was worth the things she'd done for it. Maybe she'd never self-actualized? That was the problem with religion and why he never felt drawn to it. Kate had the power to draw someone in all on her own. it was a strange magnetism. It was her strength, but the silent type filled with fortitude. Yet, despite everything, Richie considered it was something she didn't even know at the time - just the way she'd reacted to her given kiss told him that much. As he looked back, his face lost its grin. There was power in their shared glance right after she'd kissed him, and the way he'd just saw into her right before he'd kissed her back. There had been no one, nothing, not even Santanico in this thoughts. Her tone wasn't desperate but filled with longing and searching. He found it odd that both she and Santanico had asked for their freedom from him

Yet, despite everything, Richie considered it was something she didn't even know at the time - just the way she'd reacted to her given kiss told him that much. As he looked back, his face lost its grin. There was power in their shared glance right after she'd kissed him, and the way he'd just saw into her right before he'd kissed her back. There had been no one, nothing, not even Santanico in this thoughts. He questioned his vision by the pool, but once she'd died, he knew it would never come to pass. Her tone wasn't desperate but filled with longing and searching. He found it odd that both she and Santanico had both asked for their freedom from him.

Me of all people, he thought perplexed.

His fingers rubbed over his mouth as he stared out the window, reflections dancing in his lenses.

His mind was as agitated as his body was achy, so he rolled his shoulders and repositioned his glasses. Sometimes things of habit gave comfort in an otherwise new world. He'd replaced his prescription lenses with the generic. It's not like he really needed them anymore, yet they'd always been a staple in his life and on his face.

Before he'd realized, Seth drove them through the fenced area and into a garage where he parked the car. Trying to relieve stress, he took a long breath in and sat back. The car stopped, Seth clicked off the engine and sat. Everyone else also stayed a moment, none moved. Finally, Scott spoke up, "So you guys are just gonna leave her like that?"

"It's not her." Seth glared up at his tone and into his rear view mirror at Scott. "Kid, no one said anything about leaving her. She did try to kill you," he muttered and half turned in the seat with reproach in his gaze. Richie looked from Seth and briefly flickered his eyes backward towards Scott. He rose a brow at his brother's choice words and shook his head. Why did he give up so easily on Kate? Had they not grown closer while in Mexico?

 _You were_ with _her, Kate's voice echoed in his mind._

 _Like your little Mexican honeymoon?_

He shook himself, "She's really alive," he said with a far away look in his eyes.

Scott swallowed not totally sure how to argue with Seth. He always had to be right, but in his gut, Scott new just as Richie had, that Kate was in there. What the fuck was wrong with this asshole, he thought and whipped his head around at Seth, eyes narrowed and ready for a challenge.

Seth rolled his own eyes when Scott's lips thinned to a small line, "there you go again." He turned back in his seat briefly capturing an equally disturbed Richie expression.

"Well at least someone else is thinking about her. You what?-left her all alone in fucking Mexico?"

Seth raised a finger, "who did she spend all her time trying to _save_?"

"just like you are doing right now with your brother?" Scott's retort hit closer to home. "You couldn't give her time after all the shit you guys undid in our lives?"

"Your attitude, needle dick, is something else. It wasn't me or Richie she was saving, now was it, Jackie Chan." He slammed his fists against the wheel, "I gave her a ton of money and the car. Believe me, she was just _fine_. You guys think she is so weak-"

"Sure she was _fine_ , just like that, George Clooney." Scott narrowed his eyes and snapped his fingers at Seth's mention of the TV star once again. He attempted to make a comeback a few times but thought better of it. "You know, you lack taste?" Scott moved toward the door, opened it, and jerked himself out slamming the door behind him all while Richie facepalmed. "She had you and you couldn't give her the one thing she needed. You fucking broke our family."

Seth yelled, "it was already broken. You think you were all going to stay the way you were? Who fucking bit his own father? Or is that our fault too?"

"We get it, I fucked up, you both fucked us both over. People die around you where ever you go. My mom and dad were just shit on a train gone, but at least we had what we had."

"Scott, secrets have a way of coming out. You weren't gonna last like that. Kate wanted out, so did you."

"Not like this. We didn't know this world existed. I know my part, but man, you're still in the fucking dark. At least your crazy fuck of a brother gets it in his warped fucking way. You are so quick to dismiss Kate. Stop pointing the finger at everyone else and get with it. She _needs_ our help, or you gonna run away again? She went with you, she kept you company. She helped you despite how she felt, what she stood for, and god knows what else. You both wanted your brothers back, but you just left her to fend for herself..."

Seth blinked a few times, his mouth slightly parted and his breath caught. "Look, I'm sorry if-"

"No, you need to fix it, and you need to fix it now." Scott grabbed the back of his head with both hands and paced for a quick moment. Next, he kicked the car and turned to leave. "Fucking idiots," he bitched quietly as he made his way inside.

Seth watched the ground where Scott's converse shoes left imprints in the dirt. It had been his idea to steal their RV. Regardless of when their little bubble would have burst, he'd shot a hole in it before it had its own explosion. I exposed them to this while following my crazy brother. He'd noticed Richie's slow decline into madness and couldn't stand the thought of losing his other half. While he didn't get the Fuller bond, it seemed some things were as thick as blood. Maybe his guilt would lessen if he just tried to see Kate in all of this, regardless of his own desire to bury her. It's not like he'd been able to say goodbye or visit a grave. His hand began to tap his right leg.

"His music is worse, if that helps," Richie added and caught a hint of a smile from Seth.

"I think the kid needs a tampon," Seth remarked and moved himself to get out also. "His pants are too tight."

Richie moved out of the car also, "But he's right, Seth." Richie grabbed his arm once they met half way in front of the hood. "I've had these dreams," he started and licked his lips. He didn't want to share anything with Seth, but the way things had panned out this night, he wasn't altogether sure they weren't interconnected. "I don't get it fully, but he _is_ right. Look, this is our fault and we need to fix it. She's lost, man. _It's Kate_."

"You taking blame for something?!" Seth laughed, Richie gave him a sideways glare, and Seth looked taken aback, "Oh sorry." Richie rolled his eyes and stiffened his shoulders. "I forgot you had a," he cocked his head the side, "moment in the back of that room at the club."

Richie blinked quickly, his face draining. "She's not a pet or some animal. She's our Kate."

"Remember that dog you loved? She didn't run away. Long story short, dad made me shoot her. to teach me a lesson. It was quick."

Richie's face blanched and he turned, "You fucking dick. I'm glad I burned the fucker, then."

"He gave me no choice." Before he made it far, Seth was out chasing after him, " _OK_ , ok. Look, I get Kate is someone you...care about. What kind of _dreams_?"

Richie rolled his head from side to side as he tried to best explain this to his brother. He turned to face Seth with a deadpanned expression. Seth's too fucking sarcastic for this shit, he told himself. "Murders; some I am in," he looked at Seth more serious than ever, "and some have Kate. Only it's not _Kate_ per se." He rolled his eyes again more out of uneasiness. "She's locked in there...maybe Scott is right. I'm not a believer, but something dark is controlling her. I know what it sounds like-"

"Do you?" Seth interrupted. "Sounds like your little psychic thing is on the fritz." Like how his mind was when that bitch lured him into all this bullshit, Seth added internally. "You had one kiss-"

"And you wonder why I don't tell you anything and is that what this is about? Or do you think I didn't see you guys in Mexico through her memories? You liked forgetting me as much as I forgot about you. Don't lie. Kate called you out, and you get her towels for her hair? How about that heroin that she had to pump into your sorry ass? You didn't think she was too young for that, huh? You think I couldn't feel the way she was special to you? I bit you, dick head." Richie remarked with a scathing look and opened the door Scott entered not long ago. He slammed it a moment later without looking back. Let Seth bitch about his pretty car, he thought.

"Why am I the bad guy here?" he called after him.

* * *

Seth went in and took a shower while Scott tried to locate his band members by phone. No one picked up, and he began to wonder if that thing that looked like Kate had killed them. I shouldn't bother trying to call them, he thought as he rubbed his hand over his face. She could use me to track them.

Without any answer, he moved on to reviewing the recent dealings the wackjob brothers had fucked up. Even though their paths hadn't crossed, the news of robberies in Venganza's area was not unheard of. By the time he was about halfway through, he'd found a sensible trail on the few doing it. They had no link to any single organization, however, and he grew curious. The pencil in his hand slapped the bar surface garnering him a glare from the bartender. "Do you need to do that?" The man asked staring down his glasses.

"Do you need to do that?" The man asked staring down his glasses at the teen as he finished with the rag and glass he'd dried.

"Sorry," Scott muttered and stood. He contemplated approaching Richie but decided he'd wait and get some sleep. New Culebra's always felt the weight of the day stronger than the older of their kind. Most of the bar had normal humans about now anyway. With one last glance at the bartender, he decided to crash. The man shook his head as if in utter disbelief that his boss allowed someone so young into the bar. Scott rolled his eyes, aware he was a year older, but would never really age past his teens. While it did offer some pluses, he wished he could have been even slightly older in the long run.

He contemplated approaching Richie but decided he'd wait and get some sleep. New Culebra's always felt the weight of the day stronger than the older of their kind.

Richie had also retired to his room as the sun rose for the day. He'd looked through the notebook a few more times trying to piece together Kate's newest riddle. The eyes he saw, the ones that were 'possessed' as Scott put it, were there sketched out in his journal. Some faint or distant nudging told him this wasn't something new to him, but no matter how far he dug, he couldn't grasp what his mind was trying to formulate. Again. He was certain there was something more to this, but flipping through pages for two hours only made him restless, and offered nothing new. There was no one to talk to about it. Scott would go on a religious tirade, Seth would demean everything about anything afterlife-related, and the truth was buried in his head.

This was the same asshole who wanted to go to 'El Rey'.

A knock sounded at his door and pushed him back into the now, "c'mon in." Richie knew it was Scott, but figured it was better than letting Seth in. No heartbeat, the dragging of feet, and the constant huffing-somethings never changed. Just like Seth who was probably out beating on someone or something.

Scott appeared a moment later and opened the door slowly. He wasn't sure if Richie would be in a good mood or not and his eyes darted around the faintly lit walls. "Hey, I think I know who's stealing your shit. I can't sleep so I dug a little deeper."

"Having fun?" Well, well, he thought a little surprised at the kid. Richie lifted his head from his hands, "and you are helping _why_ , exactly?"

Scott settled against a desk on the wall to the left of the door, noted how tired Richie looked, and crossed his arms. Several movie posters were framed, a nice bar and a huge bed were all placed nicely in the room. Interesting, he thought. The guy loves his movies. To Richie, he said "Because you seem to have an active interest in getting Kate back, and you are into," he waved his hands, "all this shit. Between my thoughts and yours maybe we can help her?"

"What is 'all this shit'?" Richie restated with a sour look on his face making hand quotes with his fingers.

Scott's head bobbed, "I saw you. Like you were mad or bat shit crazy on the way to Mexico-"

"I'm not mad," he stated and rubbed his wrist, "I'm just aware of things more so now than I was before. It's a mental thing. I absorb powers, and there is the mind thing...Santanico can do it, but better."

Scott tilted his head. He'd never heard of a Culebra having more than one gift. All of them could sense things in the blood, so he looked to Richie's wayob. He himself could see what the person did by tasting blood, but he gained nothing personally from it by feeding. Figures he'd be a freak alive or dead, Scott thought and shook it off. "Right, so did you get any _vibes_ from Kate?"

Again Richie found himself sighing, "Look it's more than one thing she's got in there with her. She's desperate. It is stronger than she is - most of the time anyway." He stood and paced grabbing the back of his neck with his left hand. "It's like I know, but it's hidden from me." He picked up a towel from the floor and tossed it against the wall. "I just can't place it but I also know I know it, or have known it."

Scott watched as Richie's head shook 'NO'. "Sounds complicated."

Richie turned towards Scott with a 'really' expression. "I don't see you pulling shit out of your own ass."

Scott looked away, "Well, she isn't a fan of evil. I don't think it was choice based." His eyes scanned over the guy, and he decided to enlighten Richie as to why this was so odd. "Look, in our religion, one has to give permission to be possessed. Like being saved keeps you from it, like a seal. So I guess I'm wondering if she lingered or something trapped her. She had a choice to live...and our souls burn in the sun..."

"Logic defies what we are, Scott. When you were turned, did you have a choice of being one with the snake? She was _dead_. Can't something just take you over at that point? Is she gonna go to hell for killing that guy -the one you made her kill?" Richie remembered Kate hesitating and how Scott forced the issue.

"There is the soul, and we both saw how shattered she was that night. But no, she repented. She felt bad for it..." Scott shrugged, "if her soul is still in there, maybe she never left. Maybe she just let it in? Maybe we took all the light out of her. I don't know man."

"Then why let herself die in the first place?" Richie thought aloud. "See you believe in shit that doesn't answer any questions. We begged her to stay. She was pissed, but she had a fire. We did this to her. All she wanted to do was bring us together and we were all too fucking stupid to see it."

Scott took a moment before he answered, "she was always a good girl. I've never seen Kate like that. She was not herself...she was pissed at you. She realized I wasn't going to change. She must have resented me for not coming back. After everything, I didn't belong with her. I never realized she'd feel lost without me. I didn't know she like loved me that truly as a real brother." Emotions ran deep, and Scott blinked several times to keep his in check.

"Yeah, well, I learned a few things myself." Richie's eyes widened. "Seth told me as much, but sometimes you gotta live it." That hit home for Richie also, as he suspected Kate must have felt something before she died. Yeah, he told himself. She felt betrayed, and she used your full name; _There's nothing left, Richard_. I wasn't who she thought I was either, he surmised. Truth was, he'd never felt as complete as their shared moments. They may have been very different, but they were so much alike also.

Santanico was all rage and beauty, but Kate was just so much more-even for her age. When she was gone, it was like revelations occurred. "Yeah well, there is a lot you don't know about your sister," he said with some finality. "Everyone has to go there own way at some point. It's sad to disappoint someone who believes in you the way she did. We've all been there, kid."

"And you do know more about Kate?" Scott remarked a little irritated. Leave it to Richie to lift himself up, "I knew Kate my whole life-"

Richie bowed his head and just stared a moment at Scott, "but there was something else to it. I felt it. I know this is for a reason and it started with her being at that club the night shit hit the fan."

Scott simply scoffed at him and his deranged recollection of events.

Richie licked his lips remembering their conversations. She got him -reached out to him without games or abilities. Perhaps it was destiny after all, but this shit didn't seem like what he had felt was her role at the time. There had a sense of destiny, rightness, and something grander than how it had panned out. He recognized he longed for something much simpler than trying to please Santanico. Nothing he did by her was right, or to her liking. Of course, now he understood her desperation to be free.

Kate was a gentle burning flame against the fire that was Santanico-the beauty, the legs, the newness of her world. But drive can make people do crazy shit. He'd soon realized once he traded her for his position that it wasn't meant to be. As Mulvado said, he was a pawn to her. He'd felt that way a while with her after she was freed. You couldn't give gifts to a woman like her. She'd needed to be free to find herself, after having gotten offerings all her life in that prison dump of a temple. Sort of how he'd felt inside most of his life.

Kate had made him see things in a new way. Maybe it was the innocence that struck him, the level headed girl with a quick retort and willingness to reach out to him. She was a strength, and it had attracted his attention, perplexed him, and also blinded him. Most people were afraid of him, but she wasn't. There was a care an ease to it all...Seeing all she'd done for Scott...it only solidified something in him. She was someone he wanted to save. Someone who he needed in his life. Oddly, he'd never really wanted anyone this way.

The moment their lips had touched had culminated that feeling of belonging and it couldn't have felt weirder. They were so opposite. Granted, he'd known it was a ploy to get keys, but clearly, she hadn't expected that to happen- or feel it- like she had. If I am honest, he thought to himself, I'd known she felt it. Just like I had, and I ran off with another woman after that - who she saw me as having betrayed. Kate brought people together, and that's where I lost her, he reminded himself. Shit, he cursed. No wonder she felt betrayed. In that one moment, he'd been attracted to her in a way he was seldom attracted to others. Sure he loved people's darker side, but it wasn't like that with Kate. He remembered the way she'd trusted him with the knife. That look on her face, and the resulting night, well it had changed things. His own greed had clouded the one thing he really wanted. But he had everything he thought he'd wanted, and comparatively, it sucked without her. Once you tasted it, compared it to other things, and then lost it, changed you.

He wasn't ready to let Kate go so easily this time.

He hated to admit such a thing since she was so young, but he'd felt drawn or connected to her more than he had any other person. When she'd chosen death, his heart had broken. It was something he couldn't believe even as she'd taken her last breath. Then this void, this agonizing feeling wouldn't let up inside of him. I believed she'd want to be saved; Like she would ask a moment shy of leaving this world. Something inside him had shut off while another had come to life. He couldn't understand or control it. He blinked for several minutes as Scott just raised his brows and stared at him. "Kate wanted something more. We all failed her, Scott. Now we gotta figure out what the hell is going on. it's that simple."

Someone else's voice startled them, "Is that why you two were smacking lips in a strip club? Can't have the tall queen with long legs, so you resort back to the prom princess? Is that what she wanted more of, brother? Now you both have to sit her and make shit up to justify her death?" Seth leaned into the doorway and crossed his arms with raised brows also.

Richie mocked him with, "that was your nickname for her, not mine. You think you are any better?"

"I left her with a car, her life, money. You took her to the place she died. You betrayed all of us."

Richie slammed his fist into a wall. "Santantico wanted something I couldn't give her. So I gave her up and 'set her fucking free' as she wanted to be. Scott wasn't leaving Carlos side, Kate wasn't having it, and you were all about the money and your new fuck buddy. excuse me if I thought she was old enough to make her own choices."

"She ran away from you," Scott added. "To warn me. You were going to let me die, or worse, knowing all she wanted was me. Stupid if you think you knew Kate."

"I know your type, Scott. You were never going to leave and she was getting in Carlos way. You think he wouldn't have had her killed anyway? News flash, you were still stuck in your old life. She did everything for you and you turned her away time and time again, and she didn't want to face it. I wanted her to face it, but she was rash. You made her murder someone and you still never left his fucking side until he killed her. What does that make you?"

Scott looked between the two with a scowl on his face. "You kissed my sister too? You know what," he said with emphasis, "I don't really care. Kate was fine before you two bozos came into our lives."

Seth chuckled, "you were already on your way. Don't blame us for that."

"In fact, yes, I kissed her back," Richie said finishing what he'd started talking about earlier and stood. "And I saw into her soul, I felt what she felt, Scott." Richie looked away when he remembered all the love and devotion Kate had put into saving Scott, or any semblance of a life she'd known. She'd done the same for Seth, and for himself.

Scott knew Richie must have shared blood with Kate to get the actual location of the stars for the well. "I've done that at concerts to find the sinners. You think its something special? You're wrong."

"Why?" Richie asked curiously. "Why did you do it?"

"We only ate the assholes." Scott stood and brushed past Seth on the way out.

He rolled his eyes as Scott brushed his shoulder, "whatever man."

Seth looked over at Richie, "So what's the verdict?"

He retorted " _On what_?"

"The blood sharing," he said and stood taller. "You all see into the person's soul?"

Richie looked away, "You didn't know Kate."

"Hell if I didn't brother," Seth said and left him wondering what that meant.

* * *

Cars lined up outside his bar, but Richie remained carefully aloof as he stared from across the way. It never hurt to be aware of who came to these events. He was sure someone was hitting up their 'duties' as Venganza so eloquently told them a month ago. Scott had a list of names, but no WHY yet. Right, when they'd been demoted, this shit had started. She'd sent Ximena to oversee them as if they were children incapable of herding the masses correctly. So he stood outside the bar watching who came in and wondered what the why was.

He wasn't any more thrilled to be a 'bag man' for the bitch either. Collect this and that from them and so on, but never really moving up. OF course, Richie would never tell that to his brother. Maybe Seth had been right, but he'd earned his place. He wasn't really the kind of boss he thought he would've been either. I should have known, he reminded himself. Steep price to pay for a shit roll in this world. It made the thought of helping Kate even more enticing.

Seth was on the phone bitching at someone, while he drank and stood there. That same distinct...urge rode him tonight. The usual ball busters, drug dealers, and none the wiser folk filled the bar unaware of the criminals around them. Wonder if they were hungry, Richie wondered without any real joy. Tonight was a sort of treat for the locals.

Leave it Seth to make his mood sour, "Hey, are you going to drink all night? Doesn't do fucking shit to you anyway. All I'm saying is its a waste."

So what the fuck if I did drink, he thought to himself. Noting Seth was off the phone, Richie took another swig and shrugged. "Why does it matter? Don't approve?"

"Exactly," Seth complained. Of course, he had a comeback for any explanation Richie could give. "What's going down tonight?" It's time to change the subject if I am going to get that 'fuck this' attitude moving, Seth thought to himself with a heavy sigh. Truth was, standing outside was smarter than being inside. They'd looked over the information Scott had left out on the bar earlier. Someone had to be leading these guys to our shit, he thought. His eyes scanned the crowd.

All Richie seemed to do was live in whatever cock fucking book he'd started writing in. He had dreams, wouldn't elaborate on them, but Seth wondered if it was normal or not for a snake. Did they dream, he wondered? Who the fuck cares, he reminded himself.

"Is this because we have no leads on Kate?" Seth threw it out there and almost regretted it. Neither brother had seen eye to eye on the matter. "I do notice when you wake up in a cold sweat in a bitch mood. How many days has it been now?"

"What are you, my mommy now?" It was the calm cold tone Richie used that gave Seth pause. His voice had a raspy edge to it also. "or do you wish that you'd kissed her?"

A look crossed Seth's face and Richie knew that look. "Do you wish it was you who spent months in motels and hotels with her?" Always fast with a quip, he let his brother have it. "Jealousy, really Richard. This is what you wanted," he reminded Richie. "You followed the snake girl to her domain, got yourself shot, turned, and now we are the bosses bitches. You're acting crazy as fuck, we keep getting robbed, and I am still here supporting your sorry ass. We are better together, but you're so fucking intent to mess that up. On top of it, there is some crazy bitch that looks like Kate out there. What's next? Do you really like this world so much better than the one we had?"

He raised his bottle, "here, here, for demotions," he said and took another swig. Great, Seth is in crank mode, Richie thought too tired to care. "It's good. Too bad you won't get any."

"Listen," Seth began and whipped out his famous pointing finger. Richie sagged and sighed, fuck me. "You are going to toss that aside, straighten up, and do this thing. I don't know what's got your panties in a tight bunch, but we'll deal with it after. Ok man?" He slapped Richie on the shoulder. "We're brothers."

"You know everyone hates you? Ballbusting, order giving... Don't remind me. And a pep talk, Seth? Really? Not again."

Seth played his hands out, "I don't know what the fuck I'm doing here, Richie. You are undead, drinking, acting a little crazy," he wound his finger in a circle next to his temple and stared wide eyed at Richie. "let's get through tonight, and we can worry about this Kate thing in the morning. Snake bitch will have both our heads if we don't find out who is targeting her shit and why. A list of names is a start, but I want to die on a beach, not sucked dry in a desert."

Richie stood taller and straightened his suit, "fine."

"Ok," Seth added and followed him inside.

The bar was stuffed full of people, and even more, people lined up near the stage. Tonight he'd run a 'talent show' type of theme to cover while business was done below. Only as they made their way to the back, and the next person took the stage, Richie stopped dead in his tracks. A moment later Seth bumped into him, but Richie couldn't hear a damned thing.

On stage was a younger girl, her face covered partly by material wrapped around her upper head and eyes. He knew those lips and that half curved secret smile. Long dark red hair fell down her back, her limbs soft and comfortable as she began to move. A dull rhythmic sound began-music.

Seth followed Richie's glance up at the stage, "now is not the time to get hard over a dancer."

He looked back to Richie who'd begun to move through the crowd. He grabbed his brother's arm and tried to signal him, "hello to Richie!?"

The girl began to move slightly faster now, her attire perplexing and yet oddly sensual. She had a red top and red bottoms on covered by an almost sheer red material Richie couldn't place. It matched the same material that hid her eyes, yet Richie could nearly feel the weight of her 'eyes' beneath the fabric. He swallowed, "it's Kate." His voice was raspy, even to Seth who heard a slight tremor to it; just like when he said she'd died.

Seth stopped and looked up, brows drawn. "It doesn't look a thing like her," he began. Kate wouldn't move like that, either. "Half the face is covered. Are we going to have a repeat of the last big club we were in?"

That caught Richie's attention. "Something isn't right," he stated. Regardless of his struggle to look away, he felt drawn to her. A strange yet perplexing hunger rose within him. it wasn't the dance, but it was a response.

"Dude, your eyes are red." Seth backed up as a couple bumped him backward. Richie's expression changed, and his gaze was glued to the female upon the stage. He noticed a few things: the girl had a necklace on which depicted a scythe with an owl over it. As she moved, he noticed bones that lined the costume, and a skull as a prop. On the fabric across her breast, he noticed what looked like a white etched globe pattern. random, he thought having seen it before.

A hand grabbed Seth and turned him around. He grabbed at the arm until his eyes met a familiar face. "Shit," he said feeling relief flood his veins.

Santanico looked from Seth to the girl on stage, "we have a serious problem." Her eyes fell to Richie, but she nodded at the dancer. "Very serious."


End file.
